September 29 is World Heart Day. The main emphasis on World Heart Day is the steps that you as an individual can take regarding your health to try to have a heart that keeps on working for you. But whenever I think of heart health, I think of my half-sister's mother's side of her family.
See, I'm an obsessed genealogist. So I research just about everyone associated with my family. And of course I researched my sister's mother's family. Why wouldn't I? I even knew her! (And quite a fascinating character she was, too.)
I had done a fair amount of research on her family. I was going to be visiting my brother, and my sister was coming too. So I printed out an updated family tree to give to her.
But when I looked at it, I suddenly noticed an unnerving fact: In four generations, every man but one had died before reaching the age of 60. And every single one of them had died from a heart attack. (I wrote about this aspect of Laurie's family a few years ago in detail.)
The only male member of the family to live to see 60, and quite a few years beyond that, may have noticed this trend himself. I know that he retired early and enjoyed many years after that. Coincidence? You be the judge.
Amazing as it may be to some of us, family history isn't all that interesting to a lot of people. Health histories, however, especially ones that indicate hereditary conditions, are one aspect of genealogy that attract more attention. Tell someone his life may be affected by this, and his ears will perk up.
So as you research your family, take note of the causes of death on those death certificates. If you see any trends, let other family members know. Maybe they'll be able to stay around a little longer because you told them.
That is so interesting. My brother asked me a while back about what all the men in our direct lines died from. I think he was pondering his mortality and wondered what his "odds" were. I gave him the info, but assured him that he was a) not exposed to environmental stuff that our grandparents were, b) does not smoke and drink like most of them did, c) takes care of his own health, etc. It was an unusual bit of information to be asked to share, but I'm glad I could tell him.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad he is paying attention to his health! And it's great that you were able to give him the information.
DeleteUnderstanding the health history of our ancestors is important for us to know the risks and take steps to minimize them. My husband's side has a long history of early deaths on his mother's side, but she and her sister beat the odds living to their 90s. Modern medicine was a factor, too.
ReplyDeleteModern medicine can make a huge difference in some health situations, as long as people take advantage of it. And paying attention to family health trends is indeed important.
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